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Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Sri Lankans took on the United Arab Emirates in the first game of their Asian five nations campaign ended in a 13 all draw today at the CR&FC in muddy conditions.

Half time score- nil all

Full time score – 13 all

It was a very scrappy game considering the heavy weather conditions underfoot and both teams took a long time to settle in especially during the first half. Both Hookers had a tough challenge in the line outs and in most instances dropped the ball on air.

The UAE team which possessed the larger forward in comparison to the Lankans controlled the scrums but The Lankan front row of Eranga Swarnathileka, Achala Perera and Terrance Henry held the scrum to give quick ball out to their number eight and captain Sean Wijesinghe. The home team Third row was exceptional with skipper Wijesinghe leading the way in defense. He was like a man possessed as he made tackle after tackle along with Danushka Perera and Yoshitha Rajapakse.

The second half began with a much favoured response from the home team as the loose head prop forward Eranga Swarnathilike barged his way in the right corner to draw first blood in the game. The Lankans who looked threatening in loose play scored a try with the assistance of blind side flanker Danushka Perera who drew his man and passed it outside for the burly prop to score. The conversion was missed by Nuwan Hettiarachchi but then he followed it up with a precise penalty right in front of the post to give the home team the lead mid way during the second half. Both teams who adopted a kicking game kicked to the back and made use of the wet conditions.

UAE then hit back immediately with a try and a penalty to level the score 60 minutes in to the game. The visitors used their tight five brilliantly penetrated through the holes near fringes of the rucks. They hit back again to take the lead for the first time in the game through a corner try but failed to make the conversion. The score was 13-8 in favour of the visiting team. Sri Lankan who had a lot of opportunities could not capitalize due to the bad weather and missed two crucial penalties of the boots of winger Nuwan Hettiarachchi and full back Saliya Kumara. With time not on their side the Sri Lankans needed some individual brilliance. And that spark came from winger Nuwan Hettiarachchi who bulldozed his way through the UAE full back Fletcher to score on the far left. Hettiarachchi received a brilliant pass from center Gayan Weeraratne who drew and passed for the winger to sprint nearly 40 meters to score his first try of the tournament. Conversion was missed by Saliya Kumara and the score was leveled at 13 all in the 70th minute.

The next 10 minutes saw both teams going hard at each other especially UAE who used their big forwards to ‘pick and drive’ and the move nearly paid off in the 74th minute but was stopped by a solid Lankan defense.

Crucial call

Just when we thought the game would end in a 13 all came a deciding moment of the game. Nuwan Hettiarachchi who had an outstanding game sliced through the defense and ran a good 40 meters to pass the ball out to Danushka Perera who swung a pass out to replacement wing Lasintha De Costa who put in a dive to go over the try line. The referee then consulting with the touch judge and local official D. Nimal suggested that there was a knock-on and disallowed the try to the dismay of several fans present at the CR&FC. Replays showed that Costa had kept the try and was a decision which went against the home team and could prove vital during the last stages of the tournament.

Saliya Kumara was then presented with a penalty in the dying stages of the game but swung it left of the upright to finish the game in a 13 all draw.

It was a disappointing end to the game but the Lankans put in a lot of effort under extremely hard conditions. They will take on Hong Kong in their next match which will be played on the 7th of May.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The A5 Nations rugby tournament is scheduled to kick-off with the 1st match Sri Lanka vs UAERA on the 23rd of April 2011.The Sri Lanka vs Japan match which is scheduled for the 21st of May and was shifted from Tokyo to Osaka has been shifted to Sri Lanka with the Japanese accepting the invitation of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football union.

This will be a tremendous opportunity for the Sri Lankan fans to witness the best of Asia, the Japanese team playing, first hand. All matches will be played at the CR & FC grounds, Colombo.

The A5 Nations rugby tournament is scheduled to kick-off with the 1st match Sri Lanka vs UAERA on the 23rd of April 2011.The Sri Lanka vs Japan match which is scheduled for the 21st of May and was shifted from Tokyo to Osaka has been shifted to Sri Lanka with the Japanese accepting the invitation of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football union.

This will be a tremendous opportunity for the Sri Lankan fans to witness the best of Asia, the Japanese team playing, first hand. All matches will be played at the CR & FC grounds, Colombo.

Week 02 ended with some memorable games taking place with the battle for the Cannon R.S de Saram trophy taking center stage with Trinity College trashing the Thomians a whopping 75 points to 06 which was the highest ever score in the series surpassing the previous highest of 70-08 back in 1974 when the Lions were captained by C.Y Ching.

Isipathana won comprehensively against the Anthonians (31-03), while their home town rival Kingswood trounced Dharmaraja 19-06. St. Peters dominated against Thurstan to win 61-06 with the Josephians scraping through 28-24 against Science.

With the above matches taking place ThePapare takes a look at the players who stood out during the second week.

Sanchana Shiek (TCK)

The 16 year old Sri Lankan born Chinese wing three-quarter for Trinity Sanchana Sheik had a brilliant outing against the Thomians with both, boot and play.

The young three-quarter was given the kicking duties mid way during first half and he was right on the money in most instances and made the Thomians pay for their mistakes.

The talented Shiek proved to be deadly down the flank and ran hard at the Thomian threes with a lot of intention. He adopted well to the role of full back when the ball was kicked in his direction and link well with the rest of the back three to create the overlap on attack.

Danushka Ranjan (SPC)

For the second week running it was Dhanushka Ranjan who took the limelight against the Thurstanites scoring 5 tries which was the highest by a player this season together with Shashan Mohomed of Trinity.

Ranjan who came in to the schools rugby scene with a blistering 4 tries against the Josephians back in 2009 has never looked back from there on and is one of the catalysts in the powerful Peterite unit. He is a player who has in him the ‘X’ factor and brings a lot to the team.

His center breaks and individual play has given the Peterites an edge to compete for the title for the second year running.

Mekalanda Promod (IC)

Isipathana who took on the Anthonians in Kandy had to come out with a special performance to topple the Eagles in their own backyard. Mekalanda Promod playing on the open side wing three-quarter position did just that scoring 2 tries and lead the way for the visitors. Promod a senior man in the team has brilliant skills down the flank and is one of the best finishers this season.

His express pace and agility give him the edge over the rest of the wings in the schools circuit. Mekalanda who featured in the Pathana team last year was one of the main try scorers and has been one of the main performers during this season as well. He will come in handy against some of the bigger teams and will be used to run around the defense.

Lavanga Perera (KCK)

Playing at fly half Lavanga has been a consistent performer for the Kings during the recent past. Kingswood who took on Dharmaraja did not have the most convincing wins but came up with some good performances especially with Lavanga playing well at number 10. Together with his brother Oshan playing at center the brothers took control of the game and pushed the Kings over the finish line.

Perera who has a lot of skill and pace is definitely a player to look out for and is a firm contender for the national youth team. Lavanga who represented the Kandy Reds in the All-star rugby encounter last year is a natural number 10 and will be a key player for the Kingswoodians this season.

Arshad Jamaldeen (RC)

The number 10 and the play maker of the Royal team Arshad Jamaldeen helped Royal beat a fighting Wesley unit by just 1 point last week. Jamaldeen who played a vital role in that game put over 19 points with the boot and also put over the decisive last minute penalty which ultimately won the Royalists the game. His cool headed style of play has also helped his team in many tight situations.

He was spot on with his kicks at goal and also got good touch for his forwards in the opposition territory. He is a brilliant reader of the game and will come in handy during crunch matches for Royal.

D. Thiyagaraja (SJC)

The Josephians had a nail bitter of a match against the new-comers Science College with Josephian full back Thiyagaraja coming good for the visitors with 19 points which included a goal, and four penalties. The Darley Road full back who came in to the line to create the overlap was in superb form and penetrated the defence on numerous occasions.

His accurate kicking was another feature which ultimately took the game in favour of the Josephians at the final whistle.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Trinity College made their presence felt in the 2011 rugby calendar by coming out with a convincing win over their home town rivals Kingswood College in the inaugural Super 12’s rugby tournament beating them 28 points to nil.

The tournament which was initially going to be worked off at the Bogambara Stadium was moved to Pallekela after damp ground conditions at the Bogambara Stadium. Speaking to the main organizer of the event Mr. Kasthuriarachchi stated that the Pallekela grounds served as a perfect arena for the players and a lot of free flowing rugby was witnessed. The tournament which was initially programmed to last two days, was cut short to a one day tournament due to time constrains.

Trinity College who are one of the teams to look out for this season was on song right through the tournament beating their opponents convincingly. Trinity College who were led by senior player and front row forward Murad Ramzeen gave all who was present at the Pallekela Stadium a treat when they dished out some breathtaking rugby. Trinity was the team which stood out in all departments, skills, weight, size etc. Nilufer Ibrahim in his first stint at Trinity gave a preview to the rugby fans in the Central province of the Trinity side, as he marshaled his boys to beat his former team Kingswood who are coached by his former school mate and team mate, Nalaka Weerakkodi.

For the Kingswoodians it was the twin combination of Lavanga Perera and Oshan Perera who performed well. St.Anthoy’s and St.Sylvesters both dished out some brilliant rugby and ended the tournament by been played 3rd and 4th respectively. The Eagles who were minus some of their key players showed a lot of spirit in the middle against some tough opposition.

As per the smaller teams it was Maliyadeva College who stood out during the entire tournament. The lads from Kurunagela showed immense potential and talent to come up in the local schools rugby scene.

Talking to the tournament organizer Mr. Kasthuriarachchi stated that in future they want to bring in the Colombo teams and make it a more competitive affair.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The schools season which is most likely to take place in the month of March see’s yet another twist in the tail, and a major one at that. ThePapare speaking to a member of the Sri Lankan schools rugby football association (SLSRFA) learnt that there might be a likelihood of 12 teams participating for the upcoming schools rugby plum this year.

After the close of the 2010 season Thurstan College and Science College saw them tie with equal amount of points thus creating the drama. According to one of the top officials at the SLSRFA, it was known that a whopping 12 teams would take part in the ‘A’ division which will be split in to two groups. Dharmaraja College who finished one before the last in the ‘A’ division will stay back in the same division while the debutants Prince of Wales College drops down to the lower division. It is expected that three schools will come up from the ‘B’ division which will include, 2010 table leaders St.Josephs College, and the two runners up teams, Thurstan College and Science College.

A reliable source speaking to ThePapare stated that there are a lot of issues in this year’s league and that they will be having a council meeting on the 15th (Saturday) to resolve these matters and go forward.

The schools season which is normally scheduled to take place in the month of April was bought forward due to A/L and O/L examinations. With the club rugby season being pushed back due to the Asian five nations, it will be interesting to see what stance the schools body will take ahead of the much awaited schools rugby season.

The 2011 year will undoubtedly be a unique one and the start of a new era for rugby in the country. The main talk of the town has been the introduction of foreign players in to the local rugby arena to boost the competitiveness amongst the local lads.According to the Sri Lankan rugby football union the lower clubs which were relegated to the plate championships can field a maximum of two foreign players in the side (a forward and a three quarter). Namely Police SC, Army SC, Havelocks SC and CH&FC. The most significant factor about the club rugby scene in the country at present is that the flair which was evident during yesteryear is nowhere to be seen. Though the rivalry still remains, the attachment from spectators to the clubs are fading away.
According to the secretary of the SLRFU Shane Dullewe, one of the main reasons the club scene will be injected with foreign blood is to attract the crowds and to create the excitement which is not seen during recent times. It was not so long ago that the foreign players stole headlines in the local arena and players in the mould of Tongans Joseph Waka and and Alex Taka stole the limelight. The first ever Foreigners to play club rugby in the country were Fijians Jalasi Radrardo and Apisi Nagata who represented the club from Maitland Crescent.
Army SC too carried their weight around with some big Kenyans in their side in the form of Lock forward Edwin Shimanga and centre Pascal Watuheha who played in the year 2003. Kandy coach and number eight Tavita Tulaga was also another well-known foreign player and coach. He coached Kandy SC in the year 2003 to end as champs under the captaincy of Nalaka Weerakkody, Sajith Mallikarachchi and Radhika Hettiarachchi. He also played his part in the famous 2001 Royal College team as the senior coach which was captained by Zulki Hameed.
The most recent out of the foreign players that have set foot in the Island has been the controversial CH&FC center three quarter Jimmy Bolokoro who played his last match in the year 2007.